The Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation is compiled by Patricia Sheahan who publishes on a monthly basis a list of new scientific articles related to diamonds as well as media coverage and corporate announcements called the Sheahan Diamond Literature Service that is distributed as a free pdf to a list of followers. Pat has kindly agreed to allow her work to be made available as an online digital resource at Kaiser Research Online so that a broader community interested in diamonds and related geology can benefit. The SDLRC Blog is a guest commentary by an industry expert about articles, themes and trends in recent issues of the SDLRC.

January 2019

Comments by Brooke Clements

Brooke Clements received a B.Sc in Geology from Indiana University and an M.Sc in Economic Geology from the University of Arizona. From 1982 to 1997, he was an Exploration Geologist and Regional Manager for Exmin Corporation where he conducted diamond exploration programs throughout the United States. From 1998 to 2007 he was Vice President, Exploration for Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. Under his leadership, the Ashton-SOQUEM exploration team discovered the Renard diamond district in Quebec where Stornoway Diamonds opened the Renard Diamond Mine in 2016. From 2007 to 2015 he was President of Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. where he led the team that discovered the Chidliak diamond district on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. Currently, Brooke is President of JBC Ventures Ltd., a consulting company specializing in mineral exploration and community and government relations. He is also President and CEO of Craton Minerals Ltd., a private diamond exploration company focused on discovering North America's next new diamond district.

Brooke Clements has volunteered to highlight the scientific articles that caught his attention in the monthly reference compilations. The opinions expressed are solely his and he can be reached at (Email address obfuscated: enable JavaScript to view).

Sixth International Gemological Symposium: In October 2018, the GIA held the Sixth International Gemological Symposium in Carlsbad, California. Included in this month's list are titles to 23 talks with diamond/gemstone content. Topics include: diamond fluorescence, Lucara's massive Lesedi La Rona diamond, identifying synthetic diamonds and diamond formation and age. Abstracts are available within the Proceedings Volume pdf. There are lots of interesting non-diamond abstracts in the volume as well; even pearls. John Kaiser has extracted the abstracts from this volume for the references featured in the January 2019 issue of the Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation which are available for viewing in the Diamond Resource Center.

Diamond Fields of Southern India: Geological Survey of India Bulletin A series No. 68 is devoted to the diamond deposits, kimberlites, lamproites and diamond exploration in India. Ravi, Rao and Redi have done a great job of compiling a lot of historical information in the volume. The 1000 page bulletin is available as a free download at the Geological Survey of India website. Go to page #3 in the tab at the bottom of the page to get the Bulletin Series A #142 link.

The isopycnicity hypothesis states that the lithospheric mantle of ancient platforms has a unique composition such that high density due to low lithosphere temperature is nearly compensated by low-density composition of old cratonic mantle. Based on a study of the Siberian craton, the authors conclude that our knowledge of the cratonic mantle is biased by kimberlite sampling, our only window into the mantle, because kimberlite magmatism occurs over such a small percentage of cratonic area.

This looks like a good study on heli-borne gravity gradiometry; any studies on this topic are worth looking at. I think the jury is still out on how useful and cost-effective airborne gravity surveys can be in diamond exploration.